Henry Coe State Park Backpacking (4/25/2026 - 4/26/2026)

By: Sanaya Goel

Backpacking at Henry Coe was an amazing experience, a time when both new scouts and older scouts came together to teach each other about backpacking. During backpacking scouts are required to carry all their equipment (food, tents, clothings, etc.) in a backpack, and they have to hike to their campsite. At their campsite, they camp for as many nights as the backpacking lasts for, and on the last day they pack everything up and hike back down.

There were 15 scouts who attended this backpacking trip, along with 3 adults who helped make this experience as awesome as it was. 

Starting off with the first day, at 11 pm, all scouts met at Mission San Jose Community Park, and distributed lunch, tents, and did a gear check. By 12:30 pm, most scouts were here (with a few scouts cancelling at the last minute) and everyone was ready to leave for Henry Coe. The drive was exhausting for many, as it did take 30 minutes more than expected, and most scouts arrived at the Henry Coe HQ at 2 pm. 

As everyone was getting ready to leave, we discovered that one of the cars had gotten lost, and we would have to wait for an hour for them to arrive. As time passed, the weather started to become worse

and it started to rain, which ultimately forced scouts to wear all their rain gear. Finally, at around 3:15 pm the car arrived, snacks were distributed, and everyone started hiking up to the campsite in the rain.

As it was the first time for many scouts who were backpacking, they started getting tired really quickly, which resulted in several stops and breaks. Hiking itself was great, as it was a mildly flat hike, with little elevation, perfect for new scouts. Although the series was quite nice, everyone was tired from the rain, and just wanted to reach the campsite.

Finally after hiking for about an hour to an hour and a half, we reached the campsite, and set up our tents. Thankfully it stopped raining, and everyone could relax. The scouts got time to change their uniform, and they were able to rest after they set up their tents. Sadly, the rain and the delay of the car resulted in our 2nd hike being cancelled, yet none of the scouts were disappointed. 

Around 6:30 pm, all the scouts were starting to feel hungry, and so we started heating the water, and made our dinner. The dinner had a lot of variety, from raman, to noodles, to mac and cheese. By the end of dinner everyone was full, and since it was getting quite cold, people had begun to wear layers. 

To end the day, older scouts helped in making a campfire, and everyone ended the day with playing mafia. 

Rain welcomed us at 6:30 am in the morning, before we even got out of our tents. Everyone was told to get their rain gear out, and pack up their tents, while the scouts who were cooking breakfast began heating the water. 

After packing up the tents, everyone enjoyed warm oatmeal, which was a blessing as the weather was extremely cold. After eating, everyone was required to clean up (this is where we faced a bit of problems, as no one was taking ownership of trash, but we figured it out), and we headed down in the sprinkling rain. 

By 10:30 am we were at the HQ, and everyone was ready to leave. 

Although it did get cold, it was an amazing time for scouts and adults. Everyone showed perseverance and had fun backpacking.